1977, A few nights before

"I wish you didn't have to leave," Monica spoke into Freddie's bare chest. "One month of being here, and already you're going"

"It's only for a week, baby" he lifted his head from his pillow and kissed her forehead.

"I know, but Japan is halfway around the world" she whispered, walking her fingers across his shoulder and collarbone.

"...I'll talk to you every day when I can" he promised.

"How will I get through it?" She doubted.

"Think of all the things we can do when I'm back," he suggested, taking her hand and kissing her fingers, "like, when I come back I'm going to buy a car so that we can go on adventures-"

"I thought that the car is for practical means!" She giggled.

"Well, yes, but then Roger invited us to Cornwall for a weekend break mid August, remember there's that too" he smiled, raking his fingers though her chocolate waves.

She smiled back, "That's true"

"And, despite work, we have summer days and nights all to ourselves" he trailed off, and she felt his hands moving to her curves.

She stretched up and kissed his lips, "Seems as though it'll be nights, now that we've both got work"

"Such a pity," he purred, "I do adore looking at you when the lights are on and your clothes are off"

In the dark, she could just about see a naughty gleam in his eyes. But she was too tired to make love at this time of night.

"Tomorrow morning then" she settled back down into his warmth and closed her eyes.

"Alright then" he sighed at the rejection, and tightened his arms around her as he felt a yawn coming along.

A few nights after

6AM

BRRRIIIIING!

Freddie stirred, and groggily reached across the mattress to switch Monica's alarm clock off.

Monica pretended to sleep through it, keeping her eyes glued shut and body still, struggling under the heat of Freddie's breath and body as she felt him hover above her.

He sat up and grunted, rubbing his eyes. He looked over to his right, where Monica lay still on her back.

Her sleeping face was peaceful, but he could see the sadness in her expression by the way her forehead had crumpled slightly.

She had convinced him that she was asleep, for he rolled out of bed and reached down to pick his underwear up off the floor. Then, she heard him limp into the en suite bathroom.

Once the coast was clear Monica sat up a bit and looked around the bedroom for ten seconds. His noteably worn-out suitcase lay open on the floor, nearly empty and yet to be packed. It was a small enough suitcase, and she hoped its size would determine the length of time that he would be in Japan for certain, and how quickly a week would pass.

Freddie stayed in the bathroom for a few minutes to do what he had to do. She heard him groan tiredly as he re-emerged, throwing what she assumed were toiletries into the suitcase.

He bumbled around the room for several minutes after, opening and closing his drawers and wardrobe as he muttered to himself and packed his suitcase.

He drew a sharp breath as he bent down to pick the suitcase up. He left the door open, leaving her able to hear him trod down the stairs, much to her confusion and disappointment at him not at least giving her a kiss on the forehead before getting out.

"He wouldn't do that," she sat up again and peered over the edge of the mattress on his side of the bed to see if he had anything else left, "You know him by now. He's too sentimental"

To her relief, several pairs of his shoes were sitting on the carpet below. And she couldn't hear his footsteps downstairs, just the electric kettle hissing in the kitchen and his cats meowing as he filled their bowls up with their breakfast, so he'd have to come back upstairs to put something into his feet.

She closed her eyes and curled up, the bed now growing cold and empty. Nonetheless, she felt herself slip in and out of consciousness for about 20 minutes after.

Her body jolted awake a second time that morning as the telephone next to her bed rang. She checked the time on her alarm clock as it continued to ring, for she didn't know if he'd have been gone by now...

6:30

"Only half six?" She let her head fall back onto the pillow, and the ringing stopped.

"Hello?" She heard Freddie say in the hall downstairs.

Monica felt compelled to listen to his voice one more time before he left, so she rolled over and lifted the receiver quietly...

It was Mary.

"Why do you want me to book the taxi for 6:45 and not 6:35?" She asked.

"Does it matter?" Freddie asked.

"The flight times haven't changed" she said.

"...I just want time to say goodbye to Monica" he answered hesitantly, the irritation in his tone lesser.

"You're not going to wake her up this early in the morning, are you?" Mary tried to argue.

"Well, no-She has work at around eight anyway!" He reasoned.

"Oh, so she's not living off of you after all, then?"

"Oh course not!"

As much as she wanted to listen to the rest of their awkward exchanges, Monica put the receiver down before Mary could say something snide to hurt her feelings.

She'd heard enough to make her feel worse than she already did, and instantly regretted lifting the phone as she rolled onto her back.

"Why does she have to make such a big deal out of Freddie paying attention to me?" She swallowed the lump in her throat, listening to Freddie's faint, muffled arguing below.

"...Thank you once again for checking up... yeah, bye."

She listened hard as there was a moment's silence, followed by a loud exhalation as he started to head up the stairs.

Her stomach grew nervous at the sound of his footsteps. She lifted her head to peep over the edge of the duvet and looked out the doorway to see his shadow creeping up the wall as he drew closer.

She forced her eyes shut as she took smooth, deep breaths, not daring to move a muscle as Freddie came into the room.

She heard him zip up his bomber jacket after slipping into it, and felt the bed move around her as he sat on the edge of the mattress to put on his trainers. His cats must've followed him into the room because they all jumped onto the bed at that moment, which only made it harder for Monica to keep still.

"Mandy... Mandy!" He scolded the kitten as she played with his shoelaces, then chuckled and picked her up.

Tom and Goliath sniffed Monica's face, then began to affectionately lick her cheek, making her flinch.

"Shoo! Leave her sleep!" Freddie hissed as he waved them away, thinking she was stirring.

They cleared off, allowing Freddie room as he shuffled closer with the meowing small cat in his hands, and Monica felt the air in her lungs get heavier the nearer he got.

He set Mandy down onto his pillow, and Monica nearly jumped when he placed a hand on her forehead, affectionately smoothing her hair from her face.

"Why are you leaving her here?" He thought, his fingertips grazing her facial features as he took time to have one last look at her, "She's a child..."

The spontaneity of his touch and the fact that his face was only inches from hers only made her struggle to keep pretending.

"My baby..." He murmured solemnly as he played with a brown lock of hair in between his fingers, letting it fall back by her face and onto the pillow.

The way he said that made her ever so tempted to open her eyes and hold onto him tightly and not let go until the time came.

He too wanted to wake her up and pull her into his arms one last time, get one more glimpse into her almond blue eyes, but she looked too peaceful.

Instead, all he could do was close his stinging eyes, lean down and tenderly press his lips against hers.

She tried hard not to kiss him back, her spine shivering and heart rapidly beating as his hand caressed her face. She felt his hot breath in her ear when he broke.

"Goodbye, my baby," he whispered, a crack in his voice, "...I-I love you"

Oh, how she wanted to say it back. How she could've, but couldn't explain why she chose to stay asleep out of fear of letting him see her upset.

He nuzzled her tenderly one more time before sitting back up, unable to take his eyes off of her sleeping figure under the sheets surrounded by his beloved cats.

"You all better keep her good company while I'm gone, you understand?" He spoke to them as they purred and curled up near her figure.

The summoning honk of a horn sounded from outside, and Freddie backed out of the bedroom, shutting the door after him.

Tears spilled when she heard the front door below shut, and the sound of the car engine moving away made her roll away and sob quietly and cling onto her pillow.

It took a lot of strength to get out of bed for work that morning.

*****

"Is it alright if I turn the radio on, mate?" The greying taxi driver asked.

Freddie, leaning against the window and watching Kensington flash by, lifted his head from the glass, "Not at all... please do tune in"

"Thanks, I need a bit of music to perk me up," he said, reaching over to the control panel, "only a few more hours until my night shift is over and I can get back to me wife"

"Good to know" Freddie murmured as BBC Radio 1 crackled through the speakers.

"Do you have a bird at home?" The driver looked into the rear view mirror.

"I do, but I'm leaving her behind for a week." He reluctantly answered.

"Where you off to?"

The taxi driver's persistence was getting on Freddie's nerves, but he answered his questions.

"Japan, for business"

"Phewie, that's a long way away!" The driver exclaimed.

"I know..." Freddie looked back out the window, relieved that he didn't ask him about his profession.

"Cheer up, lad! You'll be back in her arms in no time" the driver said.

"I wish... if only this wasn't a press trip. Performing makes time go so much faster," he thought silently. "If she didn't step into my life before I wouldn't have agreed to it"

The Radio 1 jingle ended, switching to the much more wistful Mamas and Papas' cover of This is dedicated to the one I love.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

"A trip down memory lane with this one, folks!" the DJ said as it began.

"How much more of this must I put up with?" Freddie, whose music tastes ten years before when the song came out were very much less poppy and more glam rock, wanted to groan aloud.

"While I'm far away from you, my baby..." Michelle Phillips sang, "I know it's hard for you, my baby..."

His mind flashed back to the way he left her behind in his flat, tucked up peacefully like a doll in bed with his cats cosied up around her, and his heartache only grew.

The way Mandy, who Monica always had a soft spot for, playfully pawed at her hair sprawled across her pillow, and how Oscar burrowed his head into her hand gently, seeking for a petting. And Goliath and Tom settled by her side, content in her company.

"She would've been eight years old when this song came out... still a little girl," he thought sadly, "God, why must you tell yourself these things?"

The driver heard quiet sobbing in the backseat by the time the song got to the chorus.

"Woah, mate. Are you alright? Do you need me to pull over?" He looked into the rear view mirror, where his passenger buried his wet face into the sleeve of his leather jacket.

Freddie lifted his head, revealing his red eyes, and shook his head, "I've a flight to catch."

"If you're sure" The driver took his eyes back onto the road, and the song continued to play:

"There's something I want you to do, especially for me... and it's something that everybody needs"

He gulped, wiped his eyes with the ball of his hand, and stared out the window, just hoping that his first week away from the girl he loved would breeze past.